Date: Sat, 2 Aug 2014 01:18:39 -0700 From: drake angel Subject: Exodus Whiskey Chapter Eight - Nightfall Exodus Whiskey This is a fictional story set in the not too distant future. No intended parallels have been drawn or inferred between characters in this story and any one living or dead. The story deals with such situations as love between two young boys, sexual arousal and some sexually explicit content. Read at your discretion; follow the rules of your country and locality. Please do send me feedback if you like this story, or if you have any comments you would like to make. My email id is drakeangel1719@yahoo.com Chapter Eight: Nightfall "This is the news at nine, and I am your host Katherine Almas, here at the Channel 4 news studios." "If you have just joined us, we bring to you, live, the from the United Nations headquarters in New York city, a joint press conference by the UN, and the World Science Research forum, where Edward Burke, of MIT has just begun his press statement on the global phenomenon affecting our planet currently." In a brown lecturer's suite, a pin striped tie, and with a pair of weary, wet eyes behind horn rimmed glasses a man at the podium stood, hundreds of flashes assaulting him, in a clamor of noise and agitation. Pratyaksh was trying to change channels but the family, gathered, sat him down next to Tashu. They were huddled together in the living room, all except for Father, who was on site at Starbringer for the past week. "...The Altaris subsystem transit of our solar system is a unique event. This event, which our scientists now believe may be cyclical, has a recurrence of once in every four billion years, based on the rate and direction of travel." "As it is, this means that the transit of the Altaris belt has never occurred in the history of any living being, the oldest species on earth being dated no less than 3.6 billion years ago." "The current composition of Altaris, in so far as physical parameters is yet vague, apart from the fact that it has rogue magnetic currents and massive high frequency radiation." "Altaris is heading to our solar system at tremendous speed, and owing to Doppler effects from the speed of it's approach, frequency scanning and other methodology used to detect astronomical phenomena have been caught unawares." "At it's present course and rate of travel, we estimate that Altaris will pass through our solar system within the next 45 days. While our exact understanding of the size of the belt is still minimal at present, given it's velocity we predict that Earth transit may not last for more than 24 hours, after which it will travel through it's charted course and exit our solar system, approaching perihelion and then transiting Neptune on it's exit leg." Pratyaksh started to fidget and broke free of his confines on the sofa and ran up to the television to block it from view. Mother said something, got up and pulled him back to the couch, but he soon got up and ran upstairs, shouting "Fire, fire, can you see the fire? It's coming, the fire, it's coming. Can you see it?" "Hinata Watanabe, our esteemed Secretary General will now address the conference." A million flashes of light. A ruffle paper in a wavering hand, a deep breath, fixed resolution in her eyes, she starts to speak. "...I have been given the task to speak on the behalf all nations and peoples of the world today. I take this task with the utmost responsibility and would like to begin by thanking..." Shouts and jeers erupt from those present. The little lady is drowned out, she looks bewildered, and waits for the crowd to subside. But their pain and anger at being kept in the dark pour out through their raised clenched fists, and bloodshot eyes. "... Please, please calm down. We are here to answer your questions, please..." And yet, the dissent continues spreading in waves across the seats, doors open and armed guards in riot gear troop in, forming a barricade at the front of the dais, shock sticks at the ready, shields raised. "...Please calm down... Gentlemen, ladies, please... Let me speak..." A quiet descends suddenly, a calm before the storm. She doesn't waste a moment. "This event which is set to occur in a period of 45 days will be a global one. Every continent on earth will be affected by the transit of Altaris. I cannot emphasize enough the responsibility that you have today, to relay to the world, through your images and words, what I have to say, in context, without prejudice and without interpretation." "We are on the verge of a massive climatic shift, a global change in weather phenomenon. The world as we see it will be very different after this event." "Mr. Burke has already spoken of the science behind the matter. No technological power could have predicted the arrival of this mysterious astronomical entity. In our discussions through the previous several days, we have come to understand, both the global scientific communities and world governments that fault finding will be a vain exercise, for there is a lot of work to be done." "According to the prediction models we have been shown...", her paper visibly shakes in her hands, "this event is not survivable." A hush envelopes the room. No one speaks. Even the police turn to look at her on stage. "The sheer magnitude of the forces that Altaris will bring upon earth cannot be altered in any significant way, by any technology we are aware of at present..." A massive eruption of noise from the gathered press, people rush to the dais, the police look on in complete bewilderment. "... However...", she shouts into her microphone, "However, this is not the end of the human race." Silence and suspension once again. "We believe that once transit is complete, the earth will be still hospitable to life, and that while some maps and borders may change significantly, a new beginning will still be possible." "Mr. Andy Thompson, head of PR at UNAF, will explain this better to you." A man with the arrogant air of power in his stride occupies the podium, dwarfing the Secretary General. "I will keep this short seeing as there will be several things you will want to ask our panel. We have been working closely with our friends at Space Exploration Labs, Murakami Industries and Global Caradyne these past several weeks. In our discussions with the scientific community, it became clear that to be able to escape the catastrophic effects of the Altaris transit, we would need to be at a minimal distance of 7AU or about 1.2 billion kilometres from the earth. This would be the extent of Altaris' Tertiary Spoke 4 which is what will transit our solar system. The Starbringer program has about 30 plasma propulsion based vehicles at present, initially designed for large scale terraforming research studies, that are now, I am assured, being converted to house about eight thousand inhabitant, with food and supplies for a period of 90 days. These crafts can reach Saturnian space in a period of about 22 days from earth departure." "The United Nations and the World Council have come up with the following recommendations, which I will now read out to you." "A total of 192,000 people can be evacuated over a period of the next six days in Starbringer probes. Selection for evacuation, in the interest of humanitarian concerns, will be random only, selection will be made from the entire registered populace of the world, without prejudice, and with no categorization of any kind, based on nationality, race or age. Families will not be allowed to accompany selected individuals. Selected individuals will be notified by instant messaging on all registered devices, and their consent to leave Earth, irrespective of the fates of their loved ones, will have to be registered within a period of two hours from receiving their selection message; failure to do so will result in automatic disqualification." "These individuals will fill up 24 of the 30 crafts, of the remaining 6, two will be dedicated to exceptional individuals chosen from various fields of expertise, whose skills will be needed on arrival at earth after the event." "Two will be filled with a selection of animal species, and the other with a selection of plants." "This will be the largest exodus in the history of our world. Panic and fear will not further the cause of anyone, and to this effect, every country in the world has willingly, as of this moment, placed their citizens under martial law to effect this evacuation in an orderly manner." "Exodus sites will be named Alpha through XRay, locations of these sites cannot be revealed at the moment for security concerns." "I wish all of you the best and thank you for listening so patiently." Watanabe was back at the mic. "I too, on behalf of the world community wish you the very best for the days to come. There is not much to be said or to be heard." She turns to the camera. "Brothers and sisters. Take care of your young and elderly, watch over the silent who depend on you. Pray with your heart for all of us." "The time for our species has not yet ended. There will be new life and new beginnings. A world to start afresh. Let us not repeat the mistakes of those who came before us." "Do not be afraid, be brave in the face of adversity. Mother Earth loves us all. She will embrace us."